SurrealEstates History
SurrealEstates
North Sacramento, California, across the river 10 minutes from downtown Sacramento.
The site is in the wedge formed between north east Del Paso Blvd. & Arden Way.
SurrealEstates is made up of an innovative group of visual artists working together with community members and local government, to self build a unique artist centered compound of 11 affordable single family homes with detached studios. Goals of the group include:
-Create a dynamic environment suited to making high quality visual art in a variety of media .
-Developing an arts district and insuring the continued ownership of live/work spaces by working artists within this district.
-Show support of community by holding an open studios and by taking part in local projects and functions. This might include creating classes and projects, assisting in the formation of other artists live/work spaces in the area, applying for grants for local projects and creating a destination for open studios and international artist exchanges.
-Generating wide-spread positive attention on the artists of the SurrealEstates project, the local Old North Sacramento arts district and the City of Sacramento.
-Shaping a visionary, multicultural, energy efficient and beautiful addition to the neighborhood.
Mini history of artists in North Sac by Kim Scott
This Neighborhood (North Sacramento, mostly south of El Camino) has a tradition of artists live/work, artists studios and galleries from at least 1974 when Acme Gallery and studios was opened by Dave Stone, whose dad had a business up on the blvd.
Acme was located above (Alan) Marcus auto supply at 2030 Del Paso Boulevard.
I had my first big art show in that gallery in 1974.
I spent hours there every week hatching arts events and having fun with other artists.
We would all end up at Sammy's (across the street from ACME) to drink a gallon of coffee before and after events.
a few years later, Dave White Gallery moved into the same space.
The Artists Live Work ordinance passed in 1992, by artists members of the Visual Arts Committee, an advisory committee of SMAC (Sacramento Metro Arts Commission, now located at 2030 Del Paso). This ordinance made it legal for artists to live and work in commercial spaces.
Shortly after that, Neighborhood members, Redevelopment and the artists that framed the live work ordinance were getting together to talk about artists live work in North Sac, starting with 58 Arden, a large shed/warehouse (that at one time housed an airplane construction business for ww1... so I was told)
In the late 90’s there was a big arts boom here -fueled by the same forces, starting with Himovitz Gallery/BOB Building at 1616 Del Paso Blvd. (see current arts activities in North Sac at: http://www.sacforart.com/nsac.html) The 49 block area of Del Paso/Arden Way was declaired one of Americas 100 Arts Districts. Many galleries, theatre groups, studios and music studio and venues opened, closed and opened in the area. An inovative program called “Phantom Galleries” opened up unused storefront spaces on the Blvd for art exibitions in 1993. This was and still is maintained by the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce. http://www.northsacramentochamber.org/
Different SurrealEstates Artist/members and potential building sites came and went (including the empty CityTow/RC cola plant, now Limn Furniture at 501 Arden Way- http://www.limn.com/ ) until Robert Charland and Kim Mueller found the playground behind the North Sac School District site, on the 600 block of Dixieanne, and the Surrealestates Idea really got a location.
SurrealEstates have been ‘ghost neighbors’ for some time now. Besides showing up for some local meetings, we have had three shows here including one in the library window for a month. Three years ago (2001) we had a big party for the neighborhood on the playground lot, with a band, light show by George Holden, pizza feed, costume contest for the kids and a pumpkin patch.
Individual past and present members have had studios in the neighborhood, many at 1001 Del Paso Blvd. including: Robert Charland, Numan Huseinbegovic, John Fortes, David Beunrostro and Craig Iwo
Dave White had a studio at Alan Marcus building for years
Jack Neilson has had a studio on Juliess for many years.
I have personally been in over 20 art shows in North Sac.
In 2000, SurrealEstates was recognized in Brooklyn as one of 9 artists live/works models in the US, being the only example of its type....(affordable, new construction, self built and artist owned live/work) Although you can find a few divided warehouses and a few lofted commercial spaces used by artists, Historically, Sacramento artist live/work is more often a converted detached garage or a dedicated den located in a housing neighborhood than converted industrial warehouse. SurrealEstates single family houses with detached studios and outdoor living space is uniquely Sacramento style. This community of 11 houses/studios surrounded on three sides by residential housing and one side by commercial businesses is in line with the history of artist live/work spaces in Sac.
More history to come....Kim Scott
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As you may know, SurrealEstates is a unique artist live-work project built by artists, for artists, with units owned by the artists themselves. The 11 families that make up the first SurrealEstates community have worked with an architect to design spaces that meet the needs of working artists. By building our own units, using a proven "sweat equity" model, our artists' families are helping to ensure that the units also are affordable.
But SurrealEstates is about more than meeting artists' needs. The project also provides a host of benefits to the community at large:
By locating in the Dixieanne area neighborhood between Del Paso Boulevard and Arden Way, SurrealEstates is helping to stabilize a residential area that has struggled in the face of significant absentee ownership and persistent petty criminal activity.
At the same time, because our homes will be just a few blocks from the heart of the "Uptown Arts" district, we are helping to extend the arts-related economic development efforts that have begun to revitalize the Del Paso Boulevard area.
These are just a few of the reasons that SurrealEstates already has garnered the support of a number of local businesses and public agencies which include the following:
*U.S. Bank
*Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
*Mercy Housing of California
*Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
*California Lawyers for the Arts
*Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
*Acanthus
*Angela Scott, local land use attorney
*Law Offices of Kim J. Mueller
All the above have contributed significant time and/or money in true "barnraising" fashion to help get SurrealEstates off the ground.
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Bee Article- November 18 2004
Artists to build, create together
By Dirk Werkman -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, November 18, 2004
Kim Scott is a painter.
In the coming months, however, Scott will tackle a different art form. She will help build her own house in a unusual community in North Sacramento.
Scott will be expected to work 35 hours a week constructing her house in Surreal Estates, which will be a community of affordable homes for visual artists.
Her husband, Craig Maclaine, can help build the home, along with other family members and friends.
"When I was a little kid, my folks built several houses, and I did a little bit," Scott said.
She will be joining 10 other artists who also are constructing their homes on a 1.3-acre site at Calvados Avenue at Oakmont Street in North Sacramento.
The $2.4 million project has roots dating to 1994, when Surreal Estates was established to create an artists community.
Work to prepare the site for the homes is scheduled to begin this month. Construction of the approximately 1,200-square-foot, two-story homes - each with a detached 800-square-foot art studio - is expected to begin in January and be completed in the fall of 2005.
The homes will sell for between $120,000 and $220,000, depending on the artist's income.
Surreal Estates is within walking distance of Del Paso Boulevard, where for a decade a movement has been under way to attract art galleries and other art-related businesses to help boost the local economy.
"North Sacramento is the home of small art galleries and specialty furniture shops, making it the perfect location for creative professionals," according to a statement released by Angela Jones, public information officer for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which is involved in financing the project.
Several attempts were made over the years to purchase a site for the homes. A big boost for the project came in 1997 when the redevelopment agency became involved. Two years later, the agency advanced $10,000 to help Surreal Estates purchase the 1.3-acre site from the North Sacramento School District. The overall cost of the project is $2.4 million.
Mercy Homes, active in the development of several affordable home communities in the Sacramento region, will serve as the project developer.
Five artists already have qualified to purchase homes and more applications are being received, said Chris Glaudel, director of housing development at Mercy Housing.
Sweat equity provided by those purchasing the homes will account for about two-thirds of the labor and help make the homes more affordable, Glaudel said.
Mercy Housing is working with Jack Larkin Construction as the general contractor and for electrical work. Plumbing and other technical skills will be provided through the building trades, Glaudel said.
"Artists will be doing the bulk of the construction work themselves," he said.
"This is going to be a big boost for the Dixieanne Avenue Community," said Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, who represents North Sacramento.
"It's taking an empty lot that's been there for a number of years and placing 11 homes on it with work space for artists."
People in the community will get to see artists at work and students will get to learn from the artists, said the councilwoman.
"It's going to bring the community much closer together," Sheedy said.
Artists in three income levels will be able to purchase the homes, Glaudel said.
The median income level in the Sacramento region is $44,900 for a single person and $61,100 for a family of four, according to the federal government.
Artists with moderate incomes of up to 120 percent of the Sacramento area median income level can purchase homes for $220,000, Glaudel said. Artists with incomes of 80 percent of the area's median income can buy homes for $180,000 and those with incomes of 50 percent of the area's median incomes can purchase homes for $120,000, he said.
Subsidies administered through the housing and redevelopment agency make the homes affordable to the residents, Glaudel said.
Scott said Sacramento doesn't have the large heavy industrial buildings that have been used in some cities for loft-housing for artists.
"We're hoping it can act as a model for other live-work projects in Sacramento," Scott said. "We have had interest in the project from all over the United States."
About the writer:
The Bee's Dirk Werkman can be reached at (916) 773-6817 or dwerkman@sacbee.com.
News and Review- Bites Article- November 18th 2004
Surrealist movement: After nearly a decade of incubation, the Surreal Estates artist community in North Sacramento is looking a bit more, uhhh ... real. The development finally broke ground on Saturday, November 6, and off-site improvements by the city and utilities are under way. Currently, six of 11 lots are spoken for. “Residence construction is set to begin in January,” explained organizer and artist Kim Scott. “We really need member-owners for the remaining five units for that to happen.”
Surreal Estates was conceived by Scott, Robert Charland and other local artists who were looking to create a cohesive arts community, something akin to co-op housing for working artists. Residents will build their own dwellings--with some support from contractors--combining their own sweat equity with a combination of urban-renewal grants and loans. Units will range from 700 to 1,000 square feet, each with detached studio space, and starting mortgage payments are projected to be $550 per month. Scott is quick to point out that “actual mortgage price is determined by the buyer’s income. ... It’s like home ownership on a sliding scale.”
Scott says the unconventional project has survived “a bizarre maze of details and delays” but is finally on track. If you want to be one of the five artists who helps get it past the finishing line, you can get more info at www.surrealestates.org.
Sacramento Bee/Anne Chadwick Williams
Artists build their dream in North Sac
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Thursday, December 5, 2002
Ceramics sculptor Robert Charland discovered a new way to create art over the past decade. He's molded a series of applications, permits and appeals into a creation that he and eight fellow artists will soon build in North Sacramento.
Charland is president of Surreal Estates Ink, an artist-built and artist-occupied community of 11 cottages and 11 studios at Calvados Avenue and Oakmont Street, between Arden Way and Del Paso Boulevard.
After nearly a decade of shifting sites and false starts, nine artists are poised to build -- pending approval of energy-efficient wall panels, Charland said.
"The idea is to have a community of artists that are all dedicated to their own art and will be supportive of each other -- where there will be a lot of energy and activity and people," he said.
Artists have been known to convert blighted warehouses or rent space in blocks, but Surreal Estates is a different concept, said Michelle Walker, executive director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.
"This is truly a national model," Walker said. "This is a project that the artist conceives, envisions and helps design the work space."
Charland said the artists will help build for 35 hours each week during construction and will pay rent subsidized by deferred state and city loans. The city approved $710,000 and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission is adding $510,000. The developer is Mercy Housing, a national Catholic nonprofit developer and operator of affordable housing.
Nine artists were approved to live in the 700-to 900-square-foot cottages based on their apparent commitment to art and income eligibility. One is a videographer, another a photographer, while others paint and sculpt. There is space for two more artists, Charland said.
He hopes to begin building within three months, he said, and plans to invite the community to listen to live music some Sundays.
A resident of Sacramento for 25 years, Charland has lived in 15 apartments and worked in four studios.
"Artists don't want to starve or hang around alone and suffer," he said. "They want to be happy and be able to make art and not wonder where the next rent check is coming from."
After living in India and Nepal and traveling to 20 other countries, painter Kim Scott keeps landing back in Sacramento. She's been with the project on and off all along and will live in one of the cottages.
She was at Surreal Estates' first groundbreaking two years ago, a false start heralded by a live band and a costume contest. Would-be residents planted two trees that day, one tree has died as the project was delayed by additional permit and funding requirements.
One hurdle in the planning process was convincing city and Mercy Housing officials to allow artists to use energy-conserving panels for the walls and solar panels overhead, she said.
"We figured we may as well make this project work on the edge as much as we can," she said.
Walker, of the arts commission, said the insulated panels made by Enercept Inc. will be subsidized by SMUD and monitored by the company as a pilot project.
Wendy Saca, Mercy Housing project developer, said Surreal Estates is on hold until the 12-foot wall panels are approved by the state. Then, the plans will go to the city Planning Department for the second time.
"It's been taking a long time, but it's coming together," Saca said.
Walker said the idea for the Surreal Estates project came from a series of 1992 meetings dedicated to cleaning up Del Paso Boulevard and turning it into a cultural magnet.
The construction of Surreal Estates and approval of $1.6 million in "streetscape" improvements are to be the third wave in Del Paso Boulevard's revival.
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About the Writer
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The Bee's Christina Jewett can be reached at (916) 321-1201 or cjewett@sacbee.com.
Who Supports Us?
Lots of folks -- including:
*Acanthus- ARCHITECT Contact: Andrea Kincaid, (916) 444-9020
*California Lawyers for the Arts
*Dixieanne Area Neighborhood
*Enercept Inc (SIPS)
*Law Offices of Kim J. Mueller- (916) 565-1400
* Mercy Housing Corporation
*North Sacramento Community Development Corporation
*North Sacramento RAC
*North Sacramento Project Area Committee: Chairman- Buddy Bergstrom (916) 649-2508
*North Sacramento Unified School District
*Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
*Sacramento Design Review Board
*Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission
*SMUD
*Sacramento Planning Commission
*Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
*Sacramento Tree Foundation
*U.S. Bank
......and so many more!